Rich,

The decoder arrived this morning, and is operating perfectly. I did as much pre-work as possible while waiting for the mail. Your directions were on the money. I didn't paint the leds, however, because they already had a yellow tint; and I cut up the stock weight and GOOed it back it two places.

I recommend  anyone looking to install sound in a Bachmann 70 ton switcher, look at the photos and details Rich sent me and follow them carefully.

Thanks again for making it easy.

Rich,

Got it. I ordered the decoder and will get the styrene Friday. I'll keep you posted on how it's going.

Thanks for the details.

Ted

Rich,

You are the MAN! Could you give me a little more detail on the small pc board you used, and is it all mounted on a styrene sheet?

Mike,

Can't argue with the obvious!

I have a DCC on board 70 ton switcher in Bethlehem Steel livery. Having just completed a sound addition to my 45 tonner, I was hoping to do the same to this loco. Unfortunately, the DCC board installed doesn't seem to be as readily adaptable to sound as the 45 tonner was. Can sound be added to this loco?

Well, I got the decoder in and working with the speaker in the cab ceiling. I had to use a Dremel tool to remove some of the inside of the cab to accommodate the decoder. There's not enough room for the main board and the new decoder to lie flat as did the originals. Perhaps a Tsunami is small enough, but I don't know about sound packages. Now I plan to tweak the CV settings to get the sound where I like it. The 72843 Micro does have two generator sounds. It's neat when it starts up.

The wiring of the new decoder was very straight-forward; the diagram that came with the loco was right on the money.

Any suggestions for a good sound for the Bachman 70 ton switcher?

As close as I can measure, the speaker port is 13mm, stepping down to 9mm. I figured the speaker would replace the weight which fills that space now. The closeness to the ground could let the speaker pick up any Fe materials from the tracks, but I was thinking of placing a piece of sheer cloth between the speaker and the cover grill. That's another reason I am considering the cab ceiling installation.

Richg,

Thanks for hanging in with me on this project.

The 13mm would fit, but they are 50 ohm units and are sold by ESU as a pair to be wired in series. That's how they get the 100 ohm impedance. Does anyone know if a 50 ohm resistor could be tied in series and have the 13mm work??

Hold on a bit, fellows.

I just received the Loksound Micro 72843 and the speaker (16mm X 25mm) is too big to fit under the shell of the 45 tonner. It's too wide. This decoder needs a 100 ohm speaker, and ESU doesn't offer anything smaller at 100 ohms. I am going to try to install the speaker in the ceiling of the cab, running the wires through the cab floor. From what I can see, the decoder installation is pretty straight-forward, and I'll post my success/failure with the speaker job.

I have pulled 6 NMRA weighted cars, all with new metal wheels. These were 20+ year old cars, and I switched out the plastics wheels and NMRA couplers for new wheel sets and couplers. THe loco didn't seem to be straining.

I ordered one this morning from Eurolokshop in New York state. They had it in stock. I got the same reply as you from Tony's Trains.

I took Rich's suggestion and went to the ESU website. You can listen to various sound samples and the 72843 is as close as one can get for a loco with two small generators. Now I have to order one and decide whether to use the speaker that comes with or use a 13mm in the speaker chamber at the bottom of the engine.

Richg,

Thanks for your effort. I did look at the earlier postings and "lexon" mentioned a link to someone who had used a Loksound micro, but the link was not there. Are you suggesting using a Loksound rectangular speaker installed just under the shell?

Ted

What is the best sound decoder/speaker combination for the Spectrum 45t switcher?